Van Buren County honors family for farming
SCOTLAND — Ronnie Jones was born with a genetic condition called ocular albinism, which affects his eyesight. He is quick to point out, however, that his limited eyesight has not affected his vision for the future of his family and their life on the farm.
Ronnie, 45, and his wife, Kerri, 34, have been named the 2021 Van Buren County Farm Family of the Year. The family includes daughter Janis Lovell, 27, and her husband, James Lovell, and their children, Jaqulynn Norris, 8, Jae-Lynn Norris, 7, Jessalynn Norris, 5, and Cordell Norris, 4; daughter MaKayla Jones, 13; son, Kendall Jones, 13; daughter Addisynn Jones, 9; and daughter Olivia Jones, 5. The Joneses raise hay and cattle.
“Our goal on Jones Farm is to raise good-quality beef. … We desire for the next owner of our cows to be satisfied with their size, health and abilities,” Ronnie said. “We equally want those purchasing for consumption to have good-quality beef to feed their families. It’s important for the people who buy our beef to know it was raised in such a way that it’s what we serve at our table.
“Being named Farm Family of the Year is a huge honor. We are very humbled by it. First, we have to thank God for it. He put us here where he wants us. … He’s taking care of us.”
Kerri said she feels equally honored by the award.
“It’s hard to believe we are being honored for something we so enjoy doing,” Kerri said. “This is a special honor. “Ronnie works so hard not to be defined by his lack of vision.
“He can do just about anything he sets his mind to do. He learns so quickly. He will Google something, look at it and then go do it as quickly as he can. He does not let his eye condition hold him back.”
Kerri said Ronnie has described his eye condition like “having a flashlight [shown] in your eyes all the time.”
Information found on the website medlineplus.gov, a service of the National Library of Medicine, states: “Ocular albinism … reduces the coloring (pigmentation) of the iris, which is the colored part of the eye, and the retina, which is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. Pigmentation in the eye is essential for normal vision.”
The Joneses raise 190 acres of hay on the 362-acre farm operation; they own 46 acres and rent 362 acres. Their beef-cattle operation includes 55 head of momma cows with approximately 55 calves per year. Ronnie has been farming for 19 years.
Ronnie, 45, is a son of Joe Wayne and Wanda Jones of Scotland. He graduated from Scotland High School in 1994.
“When I was 3, my parents built a house in my dad’s hometown of Scotland,” Ronnie said. “On their 6-acre homeplace, my parents raised a few cows and a garden to supply our family with much of the food we ate. It was here [that] my dad taught me about farm equipment, how to drive a tractor and hook up attachments, to be proud of keeping up the yard, how to fix things — your own equipment — and the values of community and helping your neighbors. My parents
both led by example the value of putting God first, then respect and hard work.”
Ronnie said his parents built two contract broiler houses on the property when he was about 10.
“That’s where I learned a lot of basic skills I’ve used on the farm since,” he said. “I remember how good it felt when my dad had me drive the tractor as he stood on the blade for added weight to spread gravel for the new chicken-house driveway or being able to disc the garden up for my mom. … I loved it.
“Because my dad took the time to invest in me learning how to do things around the farm, I was able to be an asset to my mom during the growing season while my dad was working during the day,” Ronnie said. “By the time I was a teenager, I was using the tractor to work jobs in my community. I even went in halves with my dad to buy a rake, once, so I could add another way to make a little extra money.”
After he graduated from high school, Ronnie attended Arkansas Tech University in Russellville for a short time.
“I quickly realized that the amount of reading required with my limited eyesight would not result in me being successful in college, so I got a job at Tyson Tyler Road, [breading chicken nuggets and patties],” he said. “I enjoyed my job at Tyson because it was something I was great at doing and was not limited by my sight, but the pull to be back home on the farm was strong. I’d been working away from the farm for about seven years when my parents decided to retire and sell the farm. I was able to purchase the property I was raised on in 2002 … to continue raising chickens as my parents had.
“When I started farming, my income came from contracts for the broiler houses I bought,” Ronnie said. “After the poultry company I contracted with shut down, I had to decide how to replace that income.
“I already had a few cows, which I enjoyed working with, so I pivoted to focus more on the cattle operation’s growth,” he said. “This meant, for a time, that I’d also need to work outside the farm, but it was worth doing to get to where we are today.”
Ronnie also worked for the Van Buren County Road Department for a few years.
Kerri is a daughter of Martha Gatliff of Clinton and the late Nick Gatliff; Kerri’s family farmed as well. She worked for several years as a secretary for the Van Buren County Cooperative Extension Service. She recently graduated as an Integrative National Health Coach from the online program offered by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York City.
“Kerri has used her education, especially in nutrition, to help us create healthy lifestyle changes,” Ronnie said. “This has had a domino effect on the farm, leading us to make what we feel are better choices for our animals, crops and the land.”
Ronnie said they would like to increase their cattle herd to 80 momma cows and to fully implement the 300-day grazing program and utilize organic matter from the farm to improve the quality of soil for their pastures.
Among their other goals are to raise high-quality replacement heifer sets; to start raising registered Herefords; to market their own cattle for freezer beef direct to the consumer; and to organize their herd to have two separate calving seasons.
Ronnie said he and Kerri started working with the youth group at their church, First Baptist in Clinton, shortly after they were married in 2007.
“That was the year Janis joined our family,” he said.
“We felt a strong pull to do something more for the children of our community, so in 2012, we went through training through The CALL in Van Buren County to become a foster family and stayed open through 2018,” Ronnie said. They remain active with The CALL; Ronnie is a training coordinator, and Kerrie served as fundraising coordinator from 2015-2016.
Kerrie began homeschooling their four younger children in 2017, the same year they moved to their home on the 40 acres they had purchased.
“I love raising cattle,” Ronnie said. “I love taking my son everywhere I go, teaching him about farming and cattle and how to do the things necessary to raise healthy calves, just like my dad did with me. Kendall can walk into a group of cows and hand-feed them treats, and in many ways, he’s my eyes on the farm.
“Our daughters are less interested in learning how to drive tractors and do the dirty jobs, but they find ways to help on the farm, too, especially during the spring and summer,” he said.
Ronnie said their oldest daughter, Janis, “is buying the house I grew up in.”
“In the late summer or early fall, we move our bred heifers to her place, where the family interacts with and watches over them as they grow during the winter months.
“It’s very important to us that we raise our kids to know how to take care of our cattle as we do,” he said. “Farming is a legacy to us. The skills have been passed down from our families, and we intend to pass on those skills and love for farming to our children as well.”
Ronnie said MaKayla has two of her own cows on the farm, and each should be calving soon. Kendall is also working at having a couple of cows of his own.
All four of the Jones children are members of the Van Buren County 4-H Club and participate in the poultrychain program to take care of chickens; Kerri is a 4-H leader. They are also active in youth and children’s programs at First Baptist Church of Clinton, where the family attends services. Ronnie and Kerri both teach Sunday School at the church, and Ronnie is a member of the church’s benevolence committee.